"Gut health” is a buzzworthy term, but what does it entail and more importantly, how do you achieve it?  

Good gut health refers to the proper digestion and absorption of food, the balance of beneficial bacteria within the microbiome, and overall, the maintenance of a healthy gastrointestinal (GI) tract.  

Your gut plays a huge role in your holistic health because your gut affects everything. From supporting your mood to creating nutrients your body can use to regulate your appetite, gut health can positively influence many aspects of your well-being.  

As you can imagine, if your gut has the potential to influence good health, then it can also cause poor health and a myriad of issues, such as: 

• Nutrient deficiencies and weight changes  
• Emotional challenges 
• Poor brain functioning 

Signs You May Have Poor Gut Health

To stay on top of your wellness, caring for your gut health is a top priority.  Part of this includes knowing the signs of less-than-ideal gut health so that you may address them quickly and correctly: 

Declining immune function 

One important indicator that your gut needs nourishing is immune function decline. This can look like getting sick often, staying unwell longer (recovery from illness takes more time), and even becoming less responsive to typical treatments.  

The foods you eat are important to maintain the bacterial composition that affects your immune cells. Over 70% of the immune system essentially lives in the gut!

Hormonal imbalance 

Hormonal imbalance can also be linked to challenges with your gut health. Hormones are chemical messengers that regulate every function and process in your body; you are likely familiar with cortisol, the stress hormone, as well as sex hormones estrogen and testosterone.  

When your hormones are imbalanced – you have too much or too little of certain hormones – symptoms such as mood swings, weight gain, sex and fertility difficulties, and sleep loss can occur. Hormonal imbalances can be difficult to identify, address, and get back into balance, but not impossible, especially with the support of the right practitioner.

Food intolerances 

Your gut health may need to be investigated if you experience food intolerances. How do you know when you’re nearing intolerance to specific foods? Belly pain, diarrhea, gas, headaches... the list goes on! Indications of food intolerance are your body’s way of saying “I’m having a tough time breaking down this food, and an even tougher time using it to keep you healthy.”  

While these signs may not be severe enough to warrant immediate attention, they can be persistent and become stressful, which is why getting to the root cause of your gut health symptoms is so important.

Gut Health Related Problems

Anxiety and Depression 

Have you ever felt butterflies in your stomach before a big presentation? That anxiety response shows how your gut-brain connection works in real-time. “Stress (or depression or other psychological factors) can affect movement and contractions of the GI tract,” causing distress in your gut as well as to your gut-brain connection. 

Weight Loss 

Gut health-related problems are one of the first places health and nutrition coaches go to understand inexplicable weight changes.  

If your gut lacks enough of certain beneficial bacteria, you can experience unwanted weight loss, either due to GI upset and diarrhea or nutrient deficiency. At the same time, if your gut has too much of certain bacteria you may gain weight (which is one ripple effect from food sensitivities and intolerances taking their toll on your body).

Acne 

The saying, “You are what you eat” takes on a new meaning when it comes to your skin’s health. If you eat foods that cause an overgrowth of bacteria, the inflammatory response in your body can lead to acne.  

“It is increasingly believed that the interaction between skin microbes and host immunity plays an important role in this disease, with perturbed microbial composition and activity found in acne patients.” 

Alzheimer’s Disease 

Recent studies have found that “people with gut disorders may be at greater risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease (AD)” because “people with AD and gut disorders have genes in common”. Alzheimer's Disease unfortunately cannot be reversed nor stopped, but a healthier gut microbiome may assist in easing the progression of symptoms. 

Get Your Gut Health Back on Track

At this point, you likely feel excited and motivated to avoid any risks associated with poor gut health. With gut health being so interconnected with your overall well-being, you know that having a “good gut” will improve your wellness in so many ways.  

Start to get your gut health back on track now by understanding more about your digestive system, microbes, and the microbiome. Understanding what the microbiome is, how it functions, and how it impacts your digestive system will be the building blocks to your healthier gut. Diet and lifestyle changes will also be integral in making way for your gut to be healthy and happy. Even small shifts such as adding more fruits, vegetables, and fiber into your meals will go a long way.  

Another important way to reset your gut health is to reduce daily stress. With simple modifications to how you manage time, tasks, relationships, exercise, and more, your stress can decrease.  Stress does not have to wreak havoc on your gut.  

Educating yourself on each of these “poor gut health areas” and perhaps joining a supportive community of like-minded people will give you a head start on better gut health! In our Gut Health Course, you can create a healthy life free of digestive issues, help your loved ones and clients boost immunity and reduce stress, and earn a certificate in a niche area of health.